How To Do The Product Review Right (By Doing It Wrong) | Lenny & Friends Summit 2024

Introduction and the Broken State of Product Reviews

• Mika and Yuki, product leads at Figma, discuss how to do product reviews correctly by doing them a little bit wrong, sharing their perspectives as an ICPM and CPO. (6s)
• Product reviews have evolved from oral traditions to digital presentations with visual aids like slides and projectors. (53s)
• Mika shares a personal experience of a product review with Travis at Uber, which was intense and felt unsuccessful, with Travis taking over and Mika feeling like a remote control. (1m22s)
• Many product reviews feel broken, and Mika and Yuki believe this is because PMs are given advice that sounds right in theory but is wrong in practice. (2m24s)
• They disagree with the common idea that product reviews are for making decisions and choosing between radical options, instead thinking that building trust and winning over key stakeholders is the most important outcome. (2m59s)
• They plan to discuss why traditional advice might be wrong and how some taboo approaches might lead to success, using the example of a typical 25-minute product review at Figma, which often involves slide decks. (3m36s)

Challenging Traditional Product Review Advice

• Mika shares an experience of starting a product review at Figma, where they immediately received a ping from Dylan asking for the link, highlighting the importance of context and preparation. (4m18s)
• A common issue in product reviews is when the presenter asks if everyone is aligned and in agreement on the problems, goals, and principles, but is met with awkward silence, which can mean many things, including the reviewers being tuned out or multitasking (5m40s).
• This awkwardness happens because product managers (PMs) are often told to spend time setting up great setup slides with background and context before entering the review, which can lead to the spicy proposal being buried at the end (6m32s).
• A common template used in reviews includes an agenda with background, problems, goals, principles, solutions, and recommendations, but the problem is that the spicy proposal is often at the end, causing people to tune out or not know how to react (6m52s).
• The advice to build up context before presenting the proposal is often wrong or misunderstood, and it's better to start with the punchline, the part that will cause everyone to pay attention and engage in the conversation (7m48s).

The Power of the Punchline and Early Engagement

• Starting with the punchline means going quickly to the part that feels controversial and motivates everyone to pay attention, which might mean getting a violent reaction, but that's a good thing (8m1s).
• To do this, presenters can use a bird's eye view of the content, highlighting the spicy stuff or the bits that are good and interesting, such as using yellow to draw attention to the key points (8m23s).
• Product reviews should get to the point quickly, with the most important information presented within the first 20% of the deck or the first five minutes of the review, to avoid being too top-heavy with context and background information (8m42s).

Strategies for Effective Communication in Product Reviews

• Using title cards with a point of view can help grab people's attention and encourage them to engage in the discussion, as it allows them to quickly scan and glean the important parts (9m23s).
• Having an alignment widget, where everyone's opinions are solicited to identify areas of misalignment, can help product managers (PMs) focus on the most important topics and have more productive discussions (9m43s).
• PMs should be coached to get to the punchline first and elicit violent reactions early, rather than spending too much time building up context (10m11s).
• Instead of trying to cover all their bases, PMs should aim to create a clear and concise message that resonates with their audience, much like a meme that goes internally viral within the company (10m43s).
• The use of a memorable and catchy name, such as "Figma Flies," can help create a groundswell of interest and excitement within the company, and make the product more relatable and engaging (11m1s).
• A well-chosen name can take off like wildfire within the company, becoming a cultural phenomenon and creating a sense of community and shared ownership among employees (11m44s).
• Even when going to market, a well-crafted message and name can generate significant buzz and attention, as seen with the launch of Figma Flies in June (12m17s).
• Creating an internal brand that people can latch onto can help build a meme and make an idea go internally viral, as seen with a quirky product name that generated thousands of impressions on Twitter due to its unique name (12m25s).
• Using stats and data can work wonders in gaining internal traction and excitement, such as the fact that over 3.5 million people had made slide decks in Figma and Slide over the last year, highlighting a real pain point and user need (12m53s).
• Finding the one key stat that will tip an executive over the edge can be crucial, rather than just focusing on the top five or 10 stats that people need to remember (13m42s).
• When presenting, making a meme can help cover all bases and engage the audience, as seen with the stat about slide decks that got thousands of designers to raise their hands and acknowledge the pain point (13m57s).

Embracing Imperfection and Early Feedback

• When faced with an unexpected question, instead of circling back later, it's better for product managers to share their gut feeling or rough idea of their thinking, even if it's imperfect, to avoid misalignment and get to the bottom of the issue early (14m38s).
• Sharing assumptions and ideas early on can help remove arbitrary waiting times and make progress faster, a concept referred to as "cutting out the weight space" by Jeff Holden, former chief product officer at Uber (16m7s).
• When seeking answers from people, especially product managers (PMs), it can be challenging to get a response, so it's helpful to frame the question as a thought experiment to encourage sharing of rough thinking and create a safe space for discussion (16m21s).
• Instead of asking PMs to circle back or take an action item when they're unsure, encourage them to share their gut feeling, even if it's rough, to save time and build alignment faster (16m56s).

Building Trust Through Transparency and Skepticism

• When presenting an idea, it's common to focus on the positive aspects, but it's essential to also discuss the potential downsides to build trust and demonstrate that the idea has been thoroughly thought through (17m22s).
• Treating an idea with skepticism is crucial, even when making a big pitch, to show that the idea has been carefully considered and to build trust with executives (18m14s).

The Journey of a Product Idea at Figma

• The official product review at Figma was preceded by two other product review-like forums, including Maker Week, an internal hackathon where the idea was initially presented and a prototype was created in just one week (18m27s).
• The prototype demo was structured like a product review, and although the presentation was well-received, it didn't immediately result in a green light, highlighting the importance of a formal product review setting (18m52s).
• In the formal product review setting, the competitive landscape was reviewed, and the reasons why Figma should win in the storytelling space were discussed, but even with a strong presentation, the answer to whether to proceed with the idea was still uncertain (19m51s).
• A Vision pitch was presented, which included a structured approach to addressing pain points, providing solutions, and offering proof points to support hypotheses (20m33s).
• The pitch also involved being honest about areas of skepticism and uncertainty, and laying out different variations to address these concerns (21m17s).
• Preempting potential questions and concerns from executives by doing thorough research and preparation was also a key aspect of the pitch (21m40s).

The Importance of Trust and Building Momentum

• The importance of a healthy dose of skepticism in big, bold pitches was emphasized, as well as the need to understand that stakeholders are human beings with short attention spans and emotional responses (21m59s).
• The best product managers (PMs) take advantage of this understanding to guide stakeholders and build trust, which ultimately allows for faster decision-making (22m44s).
• A common myth among PMs is that the product review is a monumental, one-time opportunity to move a decision forward, but in reality, the work done outside of the review, such as building the product with the team, matters more (23m1s).
• The goal of a product review should be to use it to buy trust and do what matters most, which is to build something (24m3s).
• An example was given of a company that had three priorities at the beginning of the year, and a product review helped to shift focus to a new product, despite initial uncertainty about the timing (24m16s).
• The product review was not a formal green light, but rather a way to build trust and excitement for the work and vision (23m48s).

From Idea to Launch: The Story of Fides

• An idea for a new product was explored and an opportunity was found to make it more real by incorporating it into the sales kickoff, the company's internal conference for sales and marketing, which is the biggest internal event of the year (24m34s).
• The idea was to have the keynote use the new product, but it was not well-received initially, and the product was barely ready with many bugs leading up to the event (24m54s).
• Despite the challenges, the day of the event went perfectly, and the presentation, delivered by Chris, the CTO, and the speaker, ended with a huge reveal that the deck used for the presentation was made in the new product all along (25m10s).
• The initial product review helped build trust to explore the idea further, and getting the product to a point where it could be used in this way brought the trust to bring it to market (25m29s).
• The product, Fides, was launched five months later at Config and was well-received by the audience (25m42s).

Conclusion and Resources

• The key takeaway is that trust is essential to move an idea forward, and it's not just about making decisions (25m58s).
• The presentation deck used in the story is open-sourced and available on Figma Community, allowing others to remix and use it for their own product reviews (26m17s).